Time Management 101 – A Planner that Works for YOU

Oct 25, 2009 Uncategorized

Feeling like you need to get a better handle on your schedule even though you already have a calendar? Maybe what you are using isn’t the best fit for you.

I recently discovered this for myself. For the past few years, I’ve been using a Palm Pilot. It’s cute and blue and shiny and always inspires some "oohs" and "ahhs" whenever I whip it out to check my schedule. I bought it originally for two reasons:

I didn’t want to enter another year’s worth of birthdays into a new calendar

My husband and I thought we could "beam" each other necessary information ("What a tech-savvy couple!")

It’s worked – kind of. My schedule itself is under control, but my To Do lists are multiplying like bunnies, and they’re spread all over the place! I know, I know… You can create task lists on the Palm, but I found that in the three years that I’ve owned the Palm, I never got used to entering my To Do’s electronically. I found it tedious. It is so much easier to jot my To Do list on a piece of paper. Plus, I can have the satisfaction of making a big fat check mark when the task is complete. But because I have an electronic planner, my paper lists have no home. I’ve decided to work WITH my natural inclination towards paper and pencil. I’ve found a planner that includes lots of space for my To Do lists. All my time management tools will finally be in one place.

Perhaps the reverse is true for you. Maybe the paper planner you’re using is getting in your way. You need to find the best fit for you. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it works!

(For more suggestions on finding a time management system that works for you, I suggest reading Julie Morgenstern’s Time Management from the Inside Out.)